Mrs Ames (The Bloomsbury Group)
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'A clever, laughable little satire in the author's lightest and happiest mood' Times Literary Supplement 'An extraordinary study in comedy and quite the best thing artistically that Mr Benson has done so far' New York Times 'If you only know E F Benson's Mapp and Lucia books, then prepare to be beguiled by this witty and amusing story of village life and the perpetual jockeying for social position.Mrs Ames is sheer delight from start to finish' randomjottings.typepad.com
Product Description
Reigning over a social merry-go-round of dinners and parties, Mrs Ames is the undisputed queen bee of Riseborough. That is, until vivacious new villager Mrs Evans catches the eye of both her son and her husband. Not content with captivating the men in her life, 'that wonderful creature' Mrs Evans becomes not just rival to Mrs Ames' marriage, but rival to her village throne. When the whole of Riseborough is invited to Mrs Evans' masked costume party, action must be taken. As the date looms, the irrepressible Mrs Ames resolves to seize the chance to win back her position, and thus, her man.
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I first heard about this book from another blogger, who mentioned that the Bloomsbury Group would be reprinting four more books this summer, of which Mrs. Ames is one. EF Benson wrote dozens of novels, of which his Mapp and Lucia series is most famous. Mrs. Ames is very similar to Mapp and Lucia; it concerns the social life of the town of Riseborough and several ladies' attempts to be Queen Bee there. Mrs. Ames is the reigning queen of middle-upper class Riseborough, but her position is threatened by the arrival of Mrs. Evans.
The novel starts off a little shakily; at first I found it a little hard to get engaged by Benson's writing style. But as I continued reading, I found myself loving this witty satire, in which people split hairs over whether one lives in a "street" or "a road." Mrs. Evans's social ascendency over the town of Riseborough seems accidental, so it's no less funny when she has the upper hand over Mrs. Ames. One of my favorite characters in this book is Mrs. Altham, the middle-aged neighbor who equally aspires to the position of Queen Bee--but doesn't ever get there and says nasty things about people behind their backs. This might get old after a while if the author's tone hadn't been quite so satirical--often, the joke is on Mrs. Altham, which makes parts of the book such a joy to read. Reading this book makes me look forward to reading more of EF Benson's books--I've heard that the Mapp and Lucia series is especially good and so I think I'll try to track down copies of some of those books.
The novel starts off a little shakily; at first I found it a little hard to get engaged by Benson's writing style. But as I continued reading, I found myself loving this witty satire, in which people split hairs over whether one lives in a "street" or "a road." Mrs. Evans's social ascendency over the town of Riseborough seems accidental, so it's no less funny when she has the upper hand over Mrs. Ames. One of my favorite characters in this book is Mrs. Altham, the middle-aged neighbor who equally aspires to the position of Queen Bee--but doesn't ever get there and says nasty things about people behind their backs. This might get old after a while if the author's tone hadn't been quite so satirical--often, the joke is on Mrs. Altham, which makes parts of the book such a joy to read. Reading this book makes me look forward to reading more of EF Benson's books--I've heard that the Mapp and Lucia series is especially good and so I think I'll try to track down copies of some of those books.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Re-read this over Christmas after buying the "new" Mapp and Lucia books and the Benson touch is certainly in evidence. The dalliance and infatuations of middle aged and youthful weak males actually answers one of my own reservations about Major Benjy's sexual elements. Unlike the genteel Lucia originals, early Benson did enjoy teasing the romantic inadequacies of his heroes. Sometimes a little overblown and victorian, but always insightful. Some interesting prototypes for lovers of the later Tilling novels to enjoy. One for Bensonophiles, but not, I would suggest, a first foray into the author's world. Start with Mapp and Lucia, then Miss Mapp, then the later Lucia novels and use Queen Lucia and Lucia in London as prequels.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
As a devoted Luciaphile the idea of anything else by Benson was completely irresistible - and it may be I expected a little too much.
This book has the fascination of an early prototype for the Lucia novels: it takes place in Riseborough, and features a circle of folk who are wildly interested in each other's small doings and who plot to overthrow their social queen. However, the style is not quite so assured as the later nvels, and those who recognise a somewhat more stilted version of a story that appears in Lucia, may find vexing what would merely be amusing - if you didn't know. Also, despite what one of the reviews on the cover says, it is not remotely as light as the Lucia books. The two main female protagonists are confronting the hideous issue of ageing, and what lies ahead when beauty or husband's love has fled; and for one the answer is to cold-heartedly attempt to pinch the other's husband...
For all that I like it less, I think it presents rather more real people than do the Lucia novels, so it has substantial mertis which they can't claim. But I won't be coming back to this one to be cheered and amused again and again, though I am glad I read it ...
This book has the fascination of an early prototype for the Lucia novels: it takes place in Riseborough, and features a circle of folk who are wildly interested in each other's small doings and who plot to overthrow their social queen. However, the style is not quite so assured as the later nvels, and those who recognise a somewhat more stilted version of a story that appears in Lucia, may find vexing what would merely be amusing - if you didn't know. Also, despite what one of the reviews on the cover says, it is not remotely as light as the Lucia books. The two main female protagonists are confronting the hideous issue of ageing, and what lies ahead when beauty or husband's love has fled; and for one the answer is to cold-heartedly attempt to pinch the other's husband...
For all that I like it less, I think it presents rather more real people than do the Lucia novels, so it has substantial mertis which they can't claim. But I won't be coming back to this one to be cheered and amused again and again, though I am glad I read it ...
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